Educate!’s long-term vision is inherently sustainable.

For us, ultimate success means creating long-term impact by incorporating our model of skills-based education into national education systems across Africa. 

Drawing from our experience implementing skills-based education directly in Uganda and supporting the government to do so in Rwanda and Kenya, we advise national governments on the curriculum, teacher training initiatives, and other sustainability structures that can ensure that students graduate with the skills they need to succeed in today’s economy.

By working both at the policy and school levels, Educate! is able to partner with governments to co-create locally-relevant solutions that meet the goals of ministries, schools, families, and youth.  

Rwanda: As a technical advisor in the development of the national Entrepreneurship curriculum, Educate! supported the inclusion of an active, hands-on “Skills Lab” lesson structure, Student Business Clubs, and continuous, skills-based student assessments. By 2021, we reached 40% of all secondary schools through the Educate! Exchange, our teacher training and support model, and have plans to continue scaling this work. To achieve long-term impact, we've embedded sustainability structures, such as project-based learning initiatives and a new assessment system, that the government can use to track continuous progress for teachers and students.

Kenya: Educate! continued to support the Kenyan government in its development of a new subject for all students in the last three years of secondary: Community Service Learning (CSL). After helping to design and pilot CSL for upper-secondary students, we began to prepare to support the education system’s uptake of this new curriculum once it’s rolled out at the secondary level.

Uganda: Educate! was invited by the Ministry of Education, along with the Teacher Instructor Education and Training Department (TIET), to support in the development and rollout of a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Framework, which was scheduled to launch in 2020. To prepare for the launch of the CPD Framework pilot, Educate! held a co-design workshop alongside TIET, the Ministry of Education, and other stakeholders to outline key focus areas, activities, implementation guidelines, and timelines. Unfortunately, this work was put on hold due to indefinite school closures caused by COVID-19.

Rwanda: At the outset of the pandemic, Educate! entered into a new partnership with the Rwanda Education Board (REB) and Wavumbuzi Entrepreneurship Challenge to produce and broadcast radio lessons to youth out of school due to the outbreak. Educate! co-developed 30 radio scripts containing experiential and skills-based projects for youth, which were then assessed through SMS (texts) on mobile phone. These lessons were broadcast to 15,000 youth across the country through two major radio stations.

Researchers from Oregon State University, the World Bank, and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and partners at the Rwanda Education Board (REB) and Akazi Kanoze Access shared the results of their Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) studying the impact of our Education System Solution in Rwanda. The RCT of this first iteration of our systems-change model found measurable impacts on teacher behavior, which translated into impact on several key youth outcomes, especially for girls.

Kenya: When COVID-19 reached Kenya, our team entered into a new partnership with KICD to keep youth engaged with their education and learning at home. Leveraging materials and resources from the CSL pilot and curriculum, we partnered with the Ministry of Education to produce a new interactive, competence-based radio program called “Learn and Serve.” The weekly lessons, aired on the National Radio Station (KBC), encouraged youth to address community challenges through entrepreneurial solutions and measured skill development and comprehension through SMS (text). About 4,500 youth participated, and over 1,000 youth actively engaged with the program’s learning content.

Uganda: In 2019, we helped the government to implement Uganda’s new National Teacher policy, designed to standardize trainings, teaching standards, and certifications for all teachers across the country. Educate! was invited by the Ministry of Education, along with TIET, to support in the development and execution of a continuous professional development system — a core component of the National Teacher Policy — known as the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Framework. In response, Educate! drafted a five-part CPD accountability framework to prepare for the pilot which is set to launch next year. Further, as part of our strategy to integrate gender-sensitive pedagogy at the national level, Educate! has also worked closely with the Gender Unit within the Ministry of Educate! to streamline our gender equity work.

Rwanda: Researchers from Oregon State University, the World Bank, and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) as well as partners at the Rwanda Education Board (REB) and Akazi Kanoze Access conducted a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) to study the impact of the Educate! Exchange, our Education System Solution in Rwanda.

Kenya: In close partnership with KICD, in 2018 and 2019 Educate! designed, piloted, and evaluated the CSL subject in 65 partner schools across ten counties in Kenya. The pilot program concluded in July 2019, impacting a total of 4,352 students with critical hard and transferable skills.

Uganda: Educate! continued to support the Ugandan government in integrating skills-based learning into the national education system in 2018, including providing professional development trainings on student-centered pedagogy to over 800 teachers.

Rwanda: We completed the first iteration of the Educate! Exchange program in 100 schools in April 2018. In the same month, we launched the second iteration of our program in seven new districts in Rwanda, reaching over 175 secondary schools and 10,500 secondary school students in those districts.

Kenya: Educate! formally launched operations in Kenyan schools in 2018, including co-designing and co-piloting with the government a new learning area of the reformed curriculum called Community Service Learning (CSL). CSL, which focuses on building socially responsible citizens and entrepreneurs, is expected to be integrated throughout Kenya’s new curriculum when it launches. In 2018, we tested components of the new curriculum for the first time in a pilot in more than 60 schools.

Uganda: In the second half of 2017, we supported the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) with research on Uganda’s practical entrepreneurship exam, which we worked on as part of the country’s national upper secondary reforms in 2012. Our goal is to see whether introducing a practical assessment tool influenced teachers’ adoption of skills-based pedagogy. Data collection for this research is complete and UNEB is currently working on the final report on the findings. 

Rwanda: In 2017, we continued to provide technical advisory support to ensure that key elements of the new entrepreneurship curriculum, e.g. Skills Lab, student portfolios, and Student Business Clubs, are being fully incorporated into teachers' resource materials, as well as their daily activities. Educate! participated on the editing team for Mentor manuals to be used by school-based Mentors and Mentor trainers and provided technical assistance in the writing of the S4 textbook and the entrepreneurship teachers' guide. 

We then supported new curriculum rollout through the Educate! Exchange program, working in parallel with our partner organization Akazi Kanoze Access. In 2017, we nearly completed our first two-year Educate! Exchange program to support the implementation and teacher training for Rwanda’s national entrepreneurship curriculum reform. In order to successfully support this reform in schools, we collaborated with government officials, district master trainers and school administrators in termly teacher trainings. In addition, we held regular trainings for school administrators and local education officers to help create support systems at district and sector levels and in schools that encourage teachers to implement new practices. 

Kenya: Educate! worked in partnership with the government of Kenya in 2017 to transform secondary education to equip youth with the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century. By helping young people learn entrepreneurial and workforce skills, Educate! aims to prepare Kenyan youth to eventually create their own businesses, get jobs, and improve their incomes.

Uganda: Educate! continued to support Uganda’s government with the integration of a more practical national entrepreneurship curriculum in 2016. To test the new curriculum components and get feedback, we piloted two new units by teaching them in nine schools. In partnership with Uganda’s National Curriculum Development Center, we reported on our findings, and hosted a workshop with the teachers involved to share results and incorporate their feedback.

Rwanda: In 2016, Educate! continued to advise the government of Rwanda on skills-based education reforms and worked with the Rwandan Education Board, in partnership with Akazi Kanoze Access, to help design a new curriculum.

Educate!, together with Akazi Kanoze Access, also supported the Rwandan government with nationwide rollout of this skills-based curriculum. We launched a teacher training program in 2016, called the Educate! Exchange, whose goal is to accelerate the adoption of experiential teaching methods, leading to the practice of workforce readiness, entrepreneurship, and 21st century skills in schools.

Uganda: Educate! continued to work with the Ugandan government to include skills-based learning in secondary education by:

• supporting the government’s goal of student business creation through lower secondary education reform.

• promoting teacher training for skills-based education.

• encouraging use of Educate!’s 21st century skills assessment tool.

Rwanda: Educate! signed an MOU with the Rwanda Education Board to incorporate the Skills Lab and Student Business Club components of the Educate! model into the government’s new Competence Based Curriculum to be rolled out across Rwanda. With partners EDC and Akazi Kanoze Access, Educate! ran a national training of trainers to support Rwanda's secondary school teachers in integrating the Skills Lab into their classrooms. 

Beyond: Educate! invited the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development to tour our program in Uganda. This visit was a follow-up to Educate!'s Global Education Conference in April, where delegates from four countries (Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Rwanda) attended and spoke about their shared belief in the importance of competency-based education. Finally, in early 2015 Amon Charities and the Ministry of Education in Cameroon invited Educate! to advise and provide training for an Entrepreneurship Pilot program.

Uganda: Educate!  supported Uganda's government in nationally integrating a more practical entrepreneurship curriculum and student business club structure. This curriculum now reaches more than 50,000 youth annually.

• According to a leading Ugandan newspaper, 45% of Ugandan schools now have active Student Business Clubs.

• Educate! supported the Ugandan government in improving a national exam to evaluate what students actually accomplish in the business clubs, as well as their experience assessing markets – changes which greatly increased incentives for students to start businesses while in school.